nJapan on Sunday said it looked at the situation in Kashmir “very carefully” and hoped that a peaceful resolution to the issue will be found through dialogue. The comments by a spokesperson of the Japanese Foreign Ministry comes a day after India and Japan held their first 2+2 foreign and Defence Ministerial dialogue under a new framework to further strengthen their strategic ties.
“I do not remember the Ministers going into the detailed discussion on the specific issue,” Deputy Press Secretary in Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs Atsushi Kaifu told here reporters on a question if Kashmir issue figured in the talks.
“But at the same time, I can say we looked at the situation there very carefully.
We are aware of the long-standing differences of views with regard to Kashmir. We hope a peaceful resolution will be found through dialogue," he said.
Asked about uncertainty over the Japan-backed bullet train project from Mumbai to Ahmedabad after a new Government came to power in Maharashtra, the spokesperson said officials of both the countries are working on it and that challenges do occur in large projects.
In a joint statement on Saturday, India and Japan had asked Pakistan to take "resolute and irreversible" action against terror infrastructure operating from its soil and specifically called upon Islamabad to "fully comply "with its international commitments to deal with terrorism including the steps prescribed by the Financial Action Task Force , the global anti-terror financing watchdog.
To a question on China's growing assertiveness in the disputed South China Sea, Kaifu said freedom of navigation and over flight must be ensured in the region. He also asserted that Japan does not compromise on security and maritime issues.
"Japan and China now have a lively relationship, but we do not compromise on security and maritime issues including on the South China Sea," he said, adding that Japan has been trying to engage China in various ways and both countries are working on a bilateral visit by Chinese President Xi Jinping to Japan next year.
On Saturday, India and Japan, under the new framework of two-plus-two dialogue, discussed a host of strategic issues, including the threat posed to regional security by terror groups operating from Pakistan, latest developments in the disputed South China Sea and evolving security scenario in the Indo-Pacific region among others.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar led the Indian delegation while the Japanese was headed by Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and Minister of Defence Taro Kono.
On India's decision to not join the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the spokesperson said the countries of the grouping were trying to resolve New Delhi's concerns as decided at its meeting in Bangkok last month.
Asked whether Japan was keen on carrying out development projects in Arunachal Pradesh, Kaifu said both India and his country were keen on rolling out connectivity projects in the North Eastern region.
Careful deliberations are on about possible areas of engagement, he added.